Chasing the Sun - Old (please read the new version!)
by ThiefofSong
Summary: Most cats, from the time they're young kits to the time they're warriors, aspire to be the best that they can be. To be clan deputy, or even the leader someday. Minkkit just wants to be good enough.
1. Chapter 1 - Think Bigger, Try Harder

_**AN: So! This is my second story, and it's going to be being written alongside The Choice. I wanted to do something that had to do with the canon Clans, even if I didn't use canon characters. **_

_**I hope that this is somewhat enjoyable? I don't know. I tried to make it sound okay, but it's up to you guys, I guess!**_

"What's the first thing you're gonna do when you become a warrior?"

The voices of the other kits drifted across the clearing, as bright and cheerful as they always were. From where she sat, she could see them; Minnowkit, Maplekit, Duskkit, Smokekit, and Eelkit. Their fur was spiked in excitement as they looked at each other, curiosity burning in their eyes.

The first, Minnowkit, lifted her head and puffed out her chest in an attempt to look big and important. "I'm going to work on convincing Reedstar to give me an apprentice. I mean, I won't be the obvious choice, maybe, but once he sees I really want to do it…" She gave the kits gathered around her a wide grin. "I'll be the best mentor RiverClan's ever seen, and I'll be well on my way to becoming Clan deputy!"

Eelkit scoffed and rolled her eyes at the tabby. "You seem to think that Reedstar's just gonna _give_ you the spot of deputy. As if!"

Duskkit nodded along with her words. "You have to earn it, you know!"

One of the queens, Rainfur, gave them both stern looks. "Stop being so rude! It's okay to dream big. Even if she doesn't get to be Clan deputy, there is _nothing_ wrong with wanting to try."

"Rainfur is right." Said another, Dappleflower. "You'd do well to think like her. Being ambitious within reason can be a good thing!"

"See? Rainfur and my mother know what I mean!" Minnowkit purred, going to lay beside Dappleflower. The queen began to wash her daughter, who leaned into her soothing licks.

"Well," Eelkit began, "I want to patrol the borders as my first warrior duty - none of that yucky hunting business, please!"

Rainfur tilted her head at the younger cat, her whiskers twitching in amusement. "What do you mean by 'yucky'?"

"Oh, StarClan, no." Duskkit groaned, hiding his face in his paws. "Here we go!"

Eelkit shot a nasty glance at Duskkit before saying, "Well, I think it'd be awful to hunt first thing! I mean, I'm not a very patient cat, you know, and Daddy says that hunting takes a _lot_ of patience."

"You're also very _loud_," said Minnowkit.

"And annoying. How could you even catch something like that?" Duskkit added, smirking at Minnowkit, who let out a giggle.

"Hey! That's mean. I am _not _loud and I am _certainly_ not annoying!" Eelkit spat back, leaping to her paws. The fur along her spine fluffed up, and she looked crossly at him. "I just think it'd be really, really _boring_, that's all! And anyway, what would _you_ know? You're just a stupid, arrogant furball!"

Hurt flashed in the dark gray tom's eyes. "I wasn't being serious, you know!"

"Oh yeah? It sure didn't sound like it." Eelkit grunted, turning away so that she wouldn't have to see the sharp looks the mothers stationed around her were giving her. Her gaze settled on where the sixth, final kit was watching from across the camp, and her eyes softened. "Hey, Minkkit! Come on, join us over here! You don't have to sit by yourself."

The light, tawny brown she-kit felt a thrill of shock. While she'd been watching them, it'd been in an absent-minded sort of way, and she hadn't been expecting one of the other kits to speak to her. She was happy to oblige, however, and she got to her paws and hurried across the sun-warmed sand toward Eelkit.

"Minkkit," Dappleflower purred, waving her tail to invite the kit to lay by her. She did so, stretching out in the warm sunlight that pooled around them and sighing contentedly.

"Did you hear what we were talking about?" Eelkit asked, coming to lay beside her. The others settled around Rainfur, allowing her to give them a quick wash.

"Bits and pieces," The light tawny brown kit said casually. "I heard what you and Minnowkit wanna do, and I think they're both good things!"

"Ha! At least _one_ of my friends thinks wanting to be deputy is okay, instead of it just being my mother and another queen." Minnowkit mewed triumphantly. "No offense, Mother!"

"None taken, I suppose." Dappleflower said, flicking her kit's ear with her tail. "What about you, Minkkit? What's the first thing you want to do as a warrior?"

"She'll want to patrol with _me_, obviously! I mean, we're sisters, and we like doing stuff together, right? Smokekit would wanna come, too, wouldn't you?" Eelkit looked at her sisters hopefully, and Minkkit tipped her head to the side in thought. She did love her sisters, she really did, but if she had to be truthful with herself…

"I don't really know," She said, even as Smokekit nodded, somewhat timidly. The gray and white she-cat hated to be put on the spot like she was then. "It _would_ be fun to come with you guys, but… I just don't know! I feel like I should do whatever is required of me."

"What do you mean?" Eelkit asked, looking somewhat saddened by what she'd said.

"I mean… I guess I mean that I just want to do whatever is enough for the Clan. If that's patrolling with you, then that's fine! If it's hunting or staying in camp to make sure it stays protected while everyone else is out doing something, that's okay, too." She took in a deep breath before continuing. "I don't really care if I ever become something as important as Clan deputy. It'd be pretty cool! It really would, but I just want to… I just want to be good enough, and my first duty as a warrior should be whatever the Clan needs me to do."

"Oh…" Her sister was quiet for several heartbeats, her tail swishing back and forth in the way that it did when Eelkit was deep in thought. Then, looking straight into Minkkit's eyes, she said, "That's a great thing to want! It isn't like we wont ever patrol together, so do whatever makes you happy, sister." She headbutted Minkkit's shoulder affectionately.

Minnowkit, however, was not so pleased with the other kit's answer. "How could you _not_ want to be deputy? You could be leader one day! You could be talked about for generations! That would be _so cool_, wouldn't it?"

"Minnowkit." Dappleflower said warningly, her voice low. It didn't phase her, though, and she went on.

"That's okay, then. If you want to just be _good enough_, then you don't need to be leader in our games anymore. That's just more times for everyone _else_ to be leader!" She spat, and Minkkit recoiled. Why was she being so nasty? Why was doing what she wanted to do so wrong?

"Minnowkit, why-"

"You seem to think that because you're only a few days away from being an apprentice that you're as mature as a warrior already. You act like you're _so great_, and like you're just… Just… _Better than me_! You talk like you're so cool! You aren't! I'm only a half moon younger. I think bigger! I try harder! I'm just as great, but everyone is still looking at you right now like you're a StarClan warrior!" Minnowkit was breathing heavily now, her blue eyes blazing in anger. She didn't seem to realize just how mean she was being until Dappleflower quite suddenly cuffed her roughly over the ears.

"_Enough!_" She yowled, causing other cats in the camp to raise their heads to look in their direction. "You are being unnecessarily mean right now, Minnowkit. Minkkit isn't trying to be better, or more mature, or _anything_ you claimed. She isn't talking like she's 'cool', she's talking like a cat who's figured out what they want out of life - something that you need to figure out as well!"

"Mother, I've already-"

"_No_, I don't mean that. That's all fine. What I mean is that you need to figure out who you want to be as a cat. You can't go around being needlessly rude. You can't be like this just out of the blue. Doing things like this, it'll end up making you bitter, and I _know_ that this isn't you. I don't know what's happened to make you this way, but…" She trailed off, her eyes softening as she looked at her kit. "You can talk to me. You can talk to your sister, or Rainfur, or Cindercloud, or any of your friends. Even the elders or other warriors! If you need help, we're _here for you_, okay?"

"Yeah, Minnowkit!" Maplekit squeaked, bouncing toward her sister and winding around her to show her love for her sister. "We might argue a lot, but I'll shred anyone's ears for you!"

"So would we!" The other kits chimed in. Minnowkit stared at them all, her ears flat against her skull, looking uncomfortable and out of place. Her eyes fell upon Minkkit and she looked even more sad. After several moments, Minkkit got to her paws and padded closer to the gray tabby. She wasn't sure - couldn't be sure - what exactly had made her react like this. She'd been speaking from her heart about what she wanted to do, as her mother, Cindercloud, had told her to do. She was being truthful. She didn't want to see her friend like this, though. It just wasn't right for the normally spunky, energetic little cat to be so upset.

"I would be, too."

Minnowkit's eyes widened. "I - really? Would you really be there for me?"

"Yes." Minkkit said firmly, leaning forward to nuzzle her gently. "I'll do my best to stand by you with everyone else. You are my _friend_!"

"I'm so sorry, Minkkit!" She whispered, backing away from her slowly. "I… I'll make this up to you somehow, I promise!"

Minkkit watched as she turned and darted away, heading for the nursery. Confused thoughts swirled in her head. She dearly loved her friends, and Minnowkit was no exception. She wanted to do _something_ to help her, but for all her love and for all the things she knew, even as a kit, this was not something she was experienced in dealing with.

"Don't worry about it, dear." Dappleflower mewed, causing Minkkit to turn and look at her. "She… She gets a bit angry sometimes. She means well, but… Don't worry. Just continue being a good friend and you'll be alright."

That she would. It didn't matter what had happened, or what Minnowkit thought of what she wanted to do when she became a warrior. She would be a warrior and she would stand by her friends until her last dying breath. She would be good enough for them - she just knew.

**_AN: Did this sound alright? It's a little... Weird, I guess. I'll work on making it better!_**


	2. Chapter 2 - All the Small Things

**_AN: Here's the second chapter! I don't really have much to say right now other then I hope you enjoy it! - Song _**

The air smelled of rain the morning of Minkkit and her sisters' apprentice ceremony.

The sky was overcast, and even as the cats slid out of their dens to start the new day, the clouds seemed to darken, promising that there would soon be showers. Because of this, Cindercloud swiftly washed her kits, wanting them to look their best.

"Oh, my little loves." She said, her voice soft and low. "It feels like just yesterday you were opening your eyes, and now look at you! You're becoming apprentices!"

"I know, right?" Rainfur mewed as she fiercely licked the fur on Duskkit's head smooth. He'd been born the same day as the other three, his birth brought on by the sudden stress of needing to assist Cindercloud with her labor. He'd been a tad early, but it didn't seem to matter now; he was already promising to be a good sized cat. "I can't believe it's happening!"

"And I can't believe that I'll be stuck in here with these two mouse-brains." Dappleflower said, affectionately flicking her kits, Minnowkit and Maplekit, with her tail.

"I can feel the love, Mother." Minnowkit said, rolling her eyes.

"Yeah," Maplekit agreed. "So much love to be felt."

Cindercloud purred, finishing up on Smokekit and motioning for Eelkit to come and get her wash. "Don't worry, it'll only be a half moon until yours are apprenticed, and then the three of us can hunt and patrol together again!"

Eelkit struggled in her mother's grip, batting at her muzzle with gentle paw swipes. "I can wash _myself_, you know."

"She wants you to look good, Eelkit." Duskkit mewed to her, and then, with amusement in his voice, he added, "Not like you just came out of a river."

"He's right, so don't argue." Cindercloud said, cutting her daughter off before she could speak. "You do it so quickly that you don't get all the dust or dirt off. I hope you groom better as an apprentice!"

Eelkit groaned loudly, though she ceased struggling. "I will, I will. Don't worry, Mother, I'll be the best apprentice around!"

"Or I will!" Smokekit mewed in a rare show of boldness.

"Or I will." Minkkit said, washing herself some so that her mother - hopefully - wouldn't need to lick her as much.

"I know you will." She purred. "I'm just so proud of you!"

"As am I." A deep voice said, and Minkkit and Smokekit leaped to their paws excitedly. Eelkit stayed put, knowing full well that Cindercloud would cuff her over the ears if she moved.

"Father!" Minkkit bounded up to him, winding around his legs. Cedarstripe's dark tabby fur spiked up in pretend fear and he leaped back, feigning fear.

"Not the monster! Anything but her!" He begged, his yellow eyes looking fondly at his daughter.

"Daddy, please." Minkkit laughed, wanting to play with him but not wanting to mess up her fur - she'd finally gotten a bit on her head to lay flat. "I'm going to be an apprentice today! We can't play games right now."

He laughed with her. "I know, I know. I'm going to miss playing with you and your sisters, though. It was always good fun!"

"You're nothing more than a kit yourself, aren't you?" Rainfur muttered loudly enough for everyone to hear. Almost all the cats - save for Cedarstripe himself, who huffed good naturedly at her - burst into fits of giggles.

"Yes, Rainfur! I am the biggest kit there is. Perhaps I'll stay up crying all night in the warrior's den like kits do when they're tiny, just to annoy you." He said, winking at her.

"It wouldn't phase me, really. I'd be worried about your mate, though - she has to sleep next to you, and if you wake her up with your racket, she'll claw your ears off!"

"She's right, you know. I will!" Cindercloud growled, though her whiskers twitched in amusement. She let Eelkit go, finally, and Minkkit padded over to her so that she could smooth her fur in the places she couldn't reach as well. Almost as soon as she was done, a yowl sounded from the clearing.

"That's Reedstar!" Eelkit gasped excited, bouncing on her paws. "Let's get going, guys!"

"Hold on, Eelkit!" Cindercloud mewed, rolling her eyes in Cedarstripe's direction. The little brown she-cat was always rushing headlong into things. "We'll go when he gives the cue."

"What _is_ the cue?" Duskkit asked, looking up at Rainfur.

"You'll know, dear. Just wait." She purred, giving his head one last swift lick.

From the clearing, Reedstar's strong voice drifted into the nursery.

"Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey join here beneath the High Mound for a Clan meeting!"

All of the other RiverClan cats moved hurriedly, excitement buzzing in the air like bumblebees. The news of the apprenticing had spread through the Clan like wildfire, apparently.

"We'll be watching from outside the nursery. Good luck!" Dappleflower mewed, sliding easily out of the den. Minkkit watched her go, breathing in deeply. _This was it. This was when she'd finally be able to start doing things for the Clan._

"It is with great honor that I perform one of the greatest ceremonies that a leader is allowed - the making of kits into apprentices!" The Clan cheered at Reedstar's words, and Minkkit felt her siblings and Duskkit tense around her. "Smokekit, Eelkit, Minkkit and Duskkit, please come forward to stand beneath the High Mound!"

"That's the cue," Rainfur whispered from behind them with a tiny laugh, and Duskkit hissed lightly at her.

"Gee, you think, Mother?" He said, and then they were all being ushered out into the already bright morning sunshine.

The RiverClan cats sat in a rough semicircle around the High Mound, though several tail lengths back so that the kits could stand in the space left behind. They watched them approach, some moving aside so that they could take their places. Rainfur and Cindercloud gave them all one last quick lick before melting into the front of the crowd.

Reedstar looked down upon them as they came to a stop below him, warmth and pride evident in his expression. "You have all reached your sixth moon, and it is time for you to be apprenticed!" His gaze raked over the crowd of warriors, searching for someone, before they fell upon their target. "Otterclaw! You are ready for an apprentice. You have received excellent training from the late Troutfur and shown yourself to be a formidable opponent in battle and a loyal Clanmate. You will be the mentor of Eelpaw, and I expect you to pass on all you know to her."

"I will not let you down, sir." The dark brown tom promised, moving between cats to reach his new apprentice. Eelpaw was trembling in sheer excitement, and when she and her mentor went to touch noses, she accidently bumped him too hard, causing him to rub his nose. Chuckles erupted from the crowd, and she looked rather embarrassed.

"Minkkit, please come forward." Reedstar commanded. Minkkit gulped, looking down at her paws. They were as small and boring as ever, and they didn't look like what she thought an apprentice's paws should. Was she even ready to be one? Without really thinking about it, she'd walked forward anyway and now stood apart from Smokekit and Duskkit.

"Minkkit, from this day on, until you receive your warrior name, you will be known as Minkpaw. Your mentor will be Frostfoot. Frostfoot, I know that you only gained warrior status about four or five moons before Minkpaw was born, but I have faith in your skill and hope that you will pass on all that you learned from Rushfang to your new apprentice."

Minkpaw wondered if he would be a good mentor, being a warrior for only eleven moons. He sauntered toward her, and though he generally looked at ease from the outside, she could've sworn that she saw a hint of fear and uncertainty flash within his eyes.

They touched noses without incident, then moved to the side so that the ceremony could go on. Frostfoot did not look at her again as Reedstar carried on.

"Waspwhisker, you received excellent training from Goosefur, and we all know that you can be patient when needed. We also know that you have an outgoing side like no other. I would like you to mentor Smokepaw in the hope that you can, perhaps, give her the proper amount of kindness while still keeping her training rigorous!"

Minkpaw saw Smokepaw exhale in visible relief. She knew her sister's worries of getting a cat that wasn't very patient for a mentor - like Mudstripe, for example. He was a nice tom generally, but Duskkit's father, Stormclaw, had been his apprentice, and he said that his training had been very difficult. With how flustered she could get sometimes, that would've been a bad match.

"Rushfang, you are also going to be taking on another apprentice." Minkpaw glanced behind herself to look at the older tom. He didn't look surprised to be getting an apprentice - Reedstar would have spoken to him about it - but he did look excited about it. "You will be mentor to Duskpaw. You were mentored by Swanclaw, and I know that you will pass on all that you learned to your apprentice."

"Eelpaw! Minkpaw! Smokepaw! Duskpaw!" The Clan began to cheer, over and over again, the words washing over Minkpaw like a warm wave. Excitement began to fizz deep within her belly.

_I've made it! _She thought to herself, getting over her past indiscretions easily now that thoughts of training filled her mind. _I'm going to be a warrior!_

"It's still early in the day, new mentors. Why don't you all take your apprentices out to see the borders and allow them to learn the territory some?" Reedstar asked them. All of them nodded - all except Frostfoot, who sat without looking at their leader. Minkpaw was sure she could smell a hint of fear on him, but he couldn't figure out _why_. What did he have to be scared of? All she wanted to do was prove herself worthy of her Clan. She didn't want to claw his ears off!

The others gathered quickly while the Clan dispersed, dividing themselves into the patrols that the deputy, Cloudface, was making. She nudged Frostfoot's shoulder tentatively, wanting to get going.

"Shouldn't we join them?" Minkpaw asked.

The pale gray tom turned to face her, his eyes narrowed slightly. He did nothing but watch her for a few moments before letting out a grunt. "I suppose. Let's go." Without so much as a flick of his tail, he began to stalk towards the rest of the group, leaving Minkpaw confused.

_Perhaps I'm not the one that isn't ready to train… _She thought, padding after him slowly.

_Perhaps it's Frostfoot._

**_AN: Frostfoot is a _good_ cat, so what could be making him this way...?_**


	3. Chapter 3 - Stop

_**AN: Oh no : I'm sorry I haven't updated in a long time, if anyone has been waiting for that... Probably not, since the story isn't very interesting yet, but... :') Ye. Here it be.**_

_I was wrong._

"Leap!" He shouted, his pale gray tail lashing from side to side. "I've seen you leap before, Minkpaw! I know you can do better!"

_I'm so exhausted._

"For StarClan's sake!" He muttered under his breath as the tawny brown apprentice stumbled upon landing. Her muscles ached, and all she wanted to do was sleep. It'd been hardly half a moon since she'd become an apprentice, and already, Frostfoot was drilling her on complex leap-and-hold maneuvers he said he'd learned as an _older apprentice_.

_I shouldn't have to learn this right now! _Minkpaw thought angrily, launching herself into the air again. She twisted, grasping at the nothingness that was meant to be an imaginary enemy, and hoped that he'd let her stop soon.

"When you land, you're leaning too far to the right." He meowed, yellow eyes looking critically over her form as she touched the ground again. "You need to learn to use your tail to balance yourself out when you fall. If you were facing a real enemy and they were able to just slightly knock into you with, say, a paw, it could throw you off enough that you'd fall like you did before. If they don't leap on you and get you, then the fall could hurt you instead."

_You haven't even bothered trying to teach me to use my tail! You just started showing me this stuff without even starting with easy stuff!_

"Also, when you twist, remember to not do it in a way that you'll pull a muscle. If you do what you just did too many times, you could end up hurting yourself."

_Perhaps if we'd started correctly…!_

"And another thing," Frostfoot began, but just as it looked like Minkpaw was going to try leaping again, she whirled around to face him. Her pale golden eyes burned with a rage most unlike her normal easygoing nature.

"I'm _trying, _Frostfoot!" She spat, her small body trembling. "I'm trying my best, but you can't see that, apparently!"

He looked at her with an almost bored-looking expression. "I thought you wanted to 'prove yourself'. To be 'enough' for the Clan."

"I wont ever _be_ enough for the Clan if you don't even show how to do anything _right_! I won't even be good enough to be a loner! I'll be nothing but a worthless lump of fur!"

"That's why I'm teaching you what I am. So you can be better. So you can be good enough."

"You could have started this after at least teaching me the basics!" Minkpaw yowled. She knew that she shouldn't - knew that this angry screeching fit that she was having was not really her, and that she was probably overreacting - but she couldn't get over how unbelievably mouse-brained Frostfoot was.

"We spent two days on the 'basics' after the first day you were an apprentice. We would've done three, but touring the borders that first day took longer than expected, and you looked tired the next, so that's why I let you do the den cleaning."

"Yeah, and I'm thankful for _that_, but I barely grasped any of the concepts before you began talking about other things!"

"Think about them while we're doing those things, then. Apply them to what you're working on." He sounded utterly exasperated with how she was acting, and that only made her all the more angry.

"You are so _infuriating_!" She spat, and without thinking, leaped into the air. She twisted her body in the air like he'd shown her, but knew as soon as she was airborn that she'd overbalanced. As Minkpaw flew at him, Frostfoot dodged to the side and, ever so gently, nudged her body with a paw as she passed.

She crashed in a tumble of paws and fur, dust making her mouth taste like mud. Frostfoot casually padded toward her and placed a paw on her shoulder. He didn't press down hard, but it was firm enough that she knew if she tried, he'd only shove her back down.

"It'd also help if you listened to the tips I give you. If you did, then you wouldn't have failed just then. However, other than that, your form was perfect."

Minkpaw huffed from her place on the ground. "You would veil an insult with a compliment."

He chuckled. "If I were an enemy warrior, you'd be dead. If you listened to me more, perhaps you'd be doing better."

"Forget it." Minkpaw hissed, scrambling to her paws as he stepped away. "This is ridiculous. I'm behind my siblings because of you! I should be right up there with them, but your mentoring is awful! I don't even know how to hunt very well yet, and Smokepaw's caught a ton of fish already!"

"I showed you the basics of fishing." He said, sounding more and more like a petulant kit.

"But we didn't _practice it_! All you want me to do is battle training, but there's more to it than that! Being a warrior isn't just fighting!"

A smile flashed across his face the instant she spoke those six words. Frostfur laughed - full-on _laughed_, instead of just chuckling - and shook his head. "There. _That_ is what I've been trying to get you to say."

Minkpaw's anger fizzled out a bit, replaced by a strong sense of confusion. "What do you mean?"

"The first day you were my apprentice and we went out with your siblings and their mentors, what was it that you were all saying?" He inquired.

"I…" She tipped her head to the side, her ears folding back slightly like they did when she was deep in thought. "Eelpaw said she wanted to learn to fight or even hunt rather than just see the borders because we'd just be seeing them on border patrols."

"And what did you say? What did Smokepaw say?"

"Smokepaw said she agreed. She thought hunting sounded a lot more fun, and she's proving to be a great hunter already." Minkpaw stated, unsure of where he was going with this.

"What did _you_ say?"

"I said… Well, that I agreed with Eelpaw." She mewed, flicking her ears uncomfortably.

"_Exactly!_" Frostfoot crowed. "You wanted to learn to fight! It's what you wanted, so that's what I'm giving you; battle training!"

"But if I don't know the simplest things, than why…?"

"I thought that, perhaps, you could use a lesson in patience." He said, coming to stand just a couple mouse-lengths away. His pale yellow eyes seemed to cut right through her, and she shivered, though it wasn't cold. "You wanted this, even though you weren't ready for it. I gave it to you, and what did you find out?"

She looked sheepishly at her paws. "That I wasn't ready, like you said."

"You want to be good enough for your Clan, but if you're as impatient as your sister Eelpaw, you may find yourself rushing into situations or causing unneeded trouble. The Clan only needs a few troublemakers - Waspwhisker and Birchtail are certainly filling those spots well, and Eelpaw is on her way!" He said.

"Is it bad that Eelpaw is like that? I thought it was good to be an eager learner."

"In some cases, yes, it is good. Eelpaw is, and will always be, a fantastic cat. I see big things coming from her when she's a warrior, mark my words. She's just going to have to learn to control herself a bit more - just like Waspwhisker and Birchtail."

"They still don't control themselves most of the time, though!" Minkpaw shot back, and Frostfoot choked back a laugh.

"Right you are, my little she-cat. You have a little more drive to do so, however, so I have faith in your ability to not be a _complete_ fool when you're older." Minkpaw let out an annoyed sound, turning to walk a few paces away from him.

"I will not even be half a fool, _thank_ you very much. I happen to be smart, you know!"

He crouched down low, wriggling his haunches as though he were about to pounce. "Show me, then. Let's work on getting your leap perfected. By the end of today, I want you able to take me down!"

Minkpaw grinned, falling into the stance she used for such a task. She would show him; he'd regret his taunting for sure! 

* * *

><p>Regret it he did not, but Frostfoot was certainly proud of his apprentice.<p>

Minkpaw had, to her delight, finally been able to get him on the ground, and she now walked with her tail and head held high. She couldn't believe it! After not ever being able to ground him, she'd done it! Frostfoot had praised her, saying that he was pleased that she'd come to her senses so quickly. He'd promised to train her normally now, as what he'd been doing had been a test to get her to realize that, as she'd said herself, there was no one thing that made a cat a warrior.

She looked over at him now from where she walked beside him and reflected upon the things she'd said to him. They'd been words of anger, sure, and she hadn't meant all of them - she _had_ learned some things from him, and his mentoring wasn't all that bad, even as advanced as he'd made it. She'd been a real mouse-brain, getting her tail in a knot all because she couldn't see what he'd been trying to teach her.

Minkpaw stopped, staring at her paws, regret making her belly feel as though it were in knots. _I was mean. Being mean is not a thing that the Clan needs, and I have to make it up to him._

"I'm sorry."

Frostfoot had made it a few fox-lengths ahead of her and was half-obscured by ferns when he turned, looking at her in confusion. "What are you sorry for, little she-cat?"

"Stop calling me little," She grunted, then shook her head. "I didn't mean that, sorry. I'm just… I feel bad about the stuff I said to you, about you being a terrible mentor and all of that. It isn't true, and I was just too blind to see it."

He sighed, padding back to her. He flicked his tail tip across her nose, _tsk_ing softly. "You have nothing to be sorry for. Things happen; don't worry about it. I'm not going to punish you for learning what I've been _trying_ to teach you, and you don't need to feel bad."

"Are you sure?" Minkpaw asked, hating how small and kit-like her voice sounded. She didn't like to hurt others; she simply wanted to follow the code and be enough, but being enough didn't involve hurting those she shouldn't. "The things I said…"

"Minkpaw." Frostfoot's voice was stern, causing her to look up. His yellow eyes seemed to burn with the ferocity of the sun. "You're being too hard on yourself. I am not upset with you. I am not angry that you said those things. I am proud, do you hear me? _Proud_. If you continue on like this, and you continue to be who I see standing before me - a lovely young she-cat who knows when she is wrong and who tries to do her best - then _nothing_ will ever change that. I have a gut feeling already that tells me that you're going to be an amazing warrior - you just have to work hard for it, and you have to trust not only me, but yourself."

His face had grown more and more serious as he'd spoken, but his voice had become softer and softer with each word he spoke. Minkpaw felt her heartbeat quicken, feeling as though she had a bird trapped within her chest. He had never, for the half moon they'd been training together, spoken to her in such a way. He'd always been a little distant, even if he was cracking some sort of bad joke, but this… For him, it was strange.

And she found, as she stared back at him, completely at a loss for words, that she liked it.

Minkpaw found her tongue than, coughing as she folded her ears back against her head a bit, embarrassed. "I'll remember that, Frostfoot… Thank you. For everything. Can we come out here and practice more battle moves tomorrow? Maybe with Eelpaw and Smokepaw?"

For a moment, Frostfoot said nothing, his pale gray fur ruffled slightly, as if he were uncomfortable. Then, he chuckled and nodded at her, his pelt settling. "Sure. And Minkpaw?"

"Yes?"

"Make sure you beat them. You might think you know less than your sisters, but that isn't true. You're smart. You know how to do the advanced moves I've taught you. Show them that you're strong."

Minkpaw flashed a smug smile his way, her ears no longer down. "Don't worry, Frostfoot. I won't let you down."


	4. Chapter 4 - A Lesson in Fear

_**AN: oops sorry it's been a long time, huh? U~U It has been pretty busy in my life recently, and my dad and brother just got into a car accident last week on Monday. Everyone is completely fine, but it's just been really crazy! Here's the next chapter. Enjoy! ~ Song**_

**_ps. dang this one is pretty long gg me_**

The ground underpaw was cool, and Minkpaw relished the feeling. She couldn't wait for leaf-fall. She and her siblings, as well as Duskpaw, had been born at the tailend of leaf-bare, just as it had begun to warm, and had never truly experienced the cold. The idea of _not_ being all hot and yucky-feeling before beginning training for the day excited her, as silly as it sounded.

She glanced back at the camp entrance, becoming impatient. Reedstar had told her and the other apprentices to wait outside for him and whoever he brought with him, but so far, it seemed that only Silverpaw and Shellpaw, two of the older apprentices, had bothered to show up. It was the day after her argument with Frostfoot and she was eager to prove herself to her mentor. A huff from Shellpaw let her know that she wasn't the only one that was irritated, however.

The older she-cat's light brown tabby fur was bristling slightly, and her tail lashed to and fro, stirring the grass under it with a soft _swish_.

"You keep that up and you're gonna be an elder by the time you should be becoming a warrior." Silverpaw mewed, breaking the silence, and Minkpaw giggled as he spoke. Shellpaw turned to him, looking indignant.

"Well, Reedstar _said_ that we were to meet here. It's not my fault he _isn't_ he-"

"_Now!_" A voice yowled, nearly scaring the three of them out of their fur. Around them, cats running so quickly that they couldn't identify them by scent or by appearance burst out of the undergrowth, throwing themselves at the apprentices. Minkpaw was almost immediately thrown off her paws, falling hard onto the ground. One of their attackers pinned her, one paw on the back of her neck, claws just barely unsheathed, letting her know that if she moved, they would hurt her.

She heard her friends being pinned down as well, their grunts of confusion and their fear scent filling her nose. Despite knowing that she could be harmed, Minkpaw quickly formed a plan in her mind, and, recalling a technique Frostfoot had taught her, she went completely limp. She felt the other cat shift above her, stepping off of her, and she knew that she'd gotten exactly what she wanted. Leaping to her paws as swiftly as possible, surprising the cat whom had had her pinned and making them stumble away, Minkpaw let out a battle screech and, whirling around, lunged toward them with every intent of inflicting some serious damage.

The face she saw, however, as she made contact with the other cat was not that of an enemy, however. It was of her leader. It was…

"_Reedstar_?" Minkpaw squeaked, scrambling away from the golden brown tom cat. He laughed at her mortified expression, righting himself so that he was sitting back on his haunches.

"Yes, Minkpaw, it's me." He meowed, nodding to the other cats whom had come with him to let the other apprentices up. They, too, had been struggling against their captors, their fur mussed up and dusty.

"Why did you do that?" Shellpaw demanded, looking angry. "You didn't tell us you were going to ambush us, you just told us that you were going to meet us here!"

"What you just said is precisely why I did what I did. You all reacted rather poorly to the situation at hand."

"You ambushed us, sir." Silverpaw stated bluntly. "Shellpaw and I have only been in one battle - one that _we _were ambushing in, not being ambushed - and Minkpaw here has never had to fight another's claws except in training. We didn't know _how _to react."

"That's exactly my point. I thought that all of our apprentices needed to practice how to react in such a situation so that, should they ever find themselves in one, they know what to do." Reedstar said. "This was the easiest way to show you all what an ambush is like."

Minkpaw glanced around, realizing that the cats accompanying her leader were mostly the other apprentices in the clan. Her sisters were standing on either side of Silverpaw with Shellpaw's own sister, Tansypaw, and Duskpaw was standing a few tail lengths from Shellpaw. Maplepaw and Minnowpaw, whom had been apprenticed only a few sunrises before, stood near herself and Reedstar. Two warriors - Heroncloud and Birchtail - watched them from the edge of the clearing.

"Reedstar?" She asked, confusion suddenly filling her mind.

"Yes, Minkpaw?"

"The other apprentices… Well, they helped you attack us. They didn't get to feel what it's actually like. What about them?"

Pride entered his copper-colored gaze, and he purred lightly at the young she-cat. "Clever, you are. The others will be experiencing it as they go on patrols with the warriors. The warriors will be informed before leaving, but the apprentices will have no idea. You three will also experience it more than just this time. This is so you can practice the things you learn today in our lessons."

"Oh, great!" Shellpaw muttered softly, her eyes narrowed. "We have to go through that horror _again_?"

"Better to be prepared than to die because we're too stupid to react, I suppose." Silverpaw mused, looking less than enthused about his leader's plan but not saying anything against it.

"That's the spirit!" Reedstar crowed, looking amused at their words. Motioning to Birchtail and Heroncloud with his tail, his meowed, "I know that Waspwhisker is still in camp. Who else is there?"

"Cloudface was, but I think she mentioned going on patrol with Goosefur and Rushfang." Heroncloud mewed, her voice as warm as always.

"Did she mention where they'd be going?" Reedstar asked, his head cocked to the side slightly.

"To the ShadowClan border, then along the edge of the lake and coming back to camp." Birchtail put in. "She was originally going to check the WindClan border, but the dawn patrol had already covered it."

"I see. Well, it'd be wonderful to have her input - she's led a few ambushes with me when we've been fighting against one of the other Clans, and Rushfang is amazing with the planning of them. Duskpaw, Minkpaw - would you go and find them?" Reedstar cast his inquiring gaze onto the young tom first, and then onto Minkpaw, who both nodded.

"Of course, Reedstar!" They chirped in unison, then whirled and bounded off into the woods. Even though she was a RiverClan cat and in turn was better at fishing and swimming than running, it still felt wonderful to be pelting along at full speed through her homeland, her tail streaming out behind her, muscles working at overdrive to keep her going. She glanced to her left at Duskpaw, finding that, within his golden eyes, the same exhilaration was there.

They crossed one of the streams that surrounded the camp with little difficulty, making their way as swiftly as they could over the mostly treeless land. She remembered faintly that the elders had told her stories that their parents and their elders had told them, stories of the old forest from where the Clans had come from. There, they had had an even lesser amount of trees - next to none, in fact - and, in coming to the lake, had felt a little strange at first. Though there were nowhere near the amount that ThunderClan and ShadowClan had, the newfound cover above them made them feel somewhat like WindClan, whom hated having themselves cut off from the sky.

Thinking about that now, Minkpaw wanted to giggle. It wasn't as though their entire territory was forest - only bits. What was so scary about that?

_We're suppose to be getting the patrol, Minkpaw. Focus! _Shaking her head as she ran, trying to clear it of her useless thoughts - she wondered how she could have even become so scatterbrained - Minkpaw took in a deep drag of air. The change in scent was becoming obvious to her, and to Duskpaw too, it seemed, for they slowed their gait as they approached the Greenleaf Twolegplace. Even though it was the middle of leaf-fall, it was generally an accepted rule that one absolutely _did not_ go bursting into the area. Sometimes, though it was fairly uncommon, twolegs stayed well into leaf-fall in the Greenleaf Twolegplace between ShadowClan and ThunderClan, or came unexpectedly to stay for a day or two, leaving their monsters in the one by RiverClan territory, and it was always best to be wary. The monsters' sleeping area seemed to be nothing but a giant clearing made of the same stinking black stuff that the thunderpath was.

"Wait!" Duskpaw hissed, skidding to a halt on the short grass near the edge of the vast, hard black sea of stone. Minkpaw stopped just a few pawsteps ahead of him, turn to look at him in confusion.

"What are you doing? We need to fi-"

"Use your nose, mouse-brain - don't you smell that?" He muttered, a tone to his voice that set Minkpaw on edge. Glancing at him warily, she opened her mouth, letting the breeze bring the scents of the forest into it, as it was blowing toward them. The acrid odor of the monsters overpowered most things, but she could identify trees, grass from the clearing ahead of them and from around them, and the faintest hints of mouse, some type of bird, and...

"Is that…?" She trailed off, looking at him in alarm. Duskpaw nodded, looking grim. A sharp, metallic scent had begun to drift towards them, and it made Minkpaw want to gag.

Blood.

"We have to go and find them. There are no monsters here right now. Let's go." Duskpaw said, sinking a little lower to the ground, not quite crouching but not quite standing, either. He began to slink away without another word, his paws making scarcely a sound as he began to skirt the black stone clearing.

Minkpaw wanted so badly to turn tail right then and there and just _run_ - to run home to her mother and father and sisters, to be safe and to not have to deal with whatever they were going into. However, she also knew that if she let Duskpaw go on his own, the idiot would probably get himself killed. He was too rash for his own good sometimes, and while it _was_ good for comic relief in some situations, when he would say the stupidest things to make someone angry laugh, at a time like this, he would only do something he'd regret. _If he tries something and gets hurt, I'll never forgive myself,_ Minkpaw thought, and darted after him after only a moment's thought. If he went down, it wouldn't be without her.

She caught up to him easily, as he hadn't gone very far before she'd made her decision. Feeling her presence behind him, he glanced over his shoulder and nodded quickly, a swift sign of thanks for coming with him.

"No need to thank me," Minkpaw whispered, following him, slipping in and out of the undergrowth when he did and copying his every pawstep. "I feel like I'll leap out of my fur if even a bird flies past and scares me."

Because they were downwind, and because the wind was strong, the scent of the blood seemed stronger to their inexperienced minds. They had no idea how close they were to the scene of whatever was going on until the voices reached their ears.

"These are _kits_, Ravenfur."

"That was Cloudface!" Duskpaw hissed softly as they slowed their pace, finally reaching the edge of the clearing. Minkpaw had to hold the tom back from running forward right then and there.

Cloudface was standing as she normally did, her head held high, looking as regal as she could with her fluffy light gray fur stained red with blood. Several gashes ran along her right shoulder, and it was obvious that she was favoring that leg. On her back and on her left side, there were other cuts, and some patches of fur were missing. Beside her, Duskpaw's mentor, Rushfang, and Goosefur looked equally worse for wear.

Ravenfur chuckled, shaking her head slowly. "They're _kittypet_ kits. We can't, won't, and don't _want _to take them in."

"You know the code," Goosefur spat, "Any kits must be cared for, even if they aren't your own. Clan or no clan, these are _still _kits and they _still_ must be cared for!"

"What kits are they talking about?" Minkpaw asked, her voice scarcely more than a sigh. "I don't see any kits."

"They must be hiding… I can't even smell them over the blood." Duskpaw said, tensed beside her.

"ShadowClan has listened to ThunderClan for too long. We've lost the nature we use to be known for! We are no longer seen as having hearts cloaked in shadow, chilled by the cold north winds. We started to look like _them_ for StarClan's sake, especially when we decided to help those loners you all heard about at the last gathering. It's time we became who we _use_ to be - strong, focused on taking care of ourselves rather then others." Ravenfur hissed back, taking a step forward. Her black fur was marred with wounds just as Cloudface's was, and Minkpaw had to wonder just who got hurt more in this fight.

Three ShadowClan cats stood behind her, all in varying stages of hurt. One of them, a dark gray she-cat, was virtually being held up by a small pale gray she-cat and a light brown tabby tom. She looked to be an apprentice, though nearly a warrior, probably Silverpaw and Cypresspaw's age. All the fur had been torn off of one of her shoulders, the flesh below seemingly shredded by thorn-sharp claws. The gray she-cat had a ripped ear and a few claw marks on her face and flanks, and the tom had sustained a nasty bite just above his left paw, which he seemed to barely put pressure on.

"While I can understand wanting to live up to the reputation that your Clan has always had, I simply _cannot _go along with hurting innocent kits because that _cold north wind_ has chilled your hearts so much that you don't even care about them." Cloudface growled, her tail lashing back and forth. Minkpaw could see just in that sign that she wanted to go back at the ShadowClan cats again, but also that she couldn't because of her leg.

"Big words for an injured she-cat on the edge of her territory," the light brown tabby tom sneered, and Rushfang let out a low snarl from deep within his throat.

"Do _not_ threaten my deputy, unless you actually _want_ my to do to your other front paw what I did to the left one?" He said smartly, to which the tom replied with a hiss.

"Enough. We're done here; we don't need these useless kittypets and we don't need a bunch of fisheaters telling us that we're wrong. Come, my warriors; let us return to camp, _away _from this…" Ravenfur looked the RiverClan cats up and down, and then said, "Scum."

"Go ahead, run. WindClan and ThunderClan _will_ hear of this at the gathering in a few days' time, though. They will know what you've done." Cloudface warned, though they'd already begun to leave.

The black-furred ShadowClan deputy turned, her eyes narrowed, a grim sort of satisfaction gleaming within her eyes. "Let them know." Then, she turned and left with her cats - as quickly as they could, anyway, with the apprentice in the condition that she was.

As soon as they were gone, Cloudface turned and limped toward the bushes at the edge of the clearing. Carefully, she sat before them, and then called out softly. "Come out, kits. You're alright now. ShadowClan have gone."

Rushfang and Goosefur settled down on either side of her as, slowly, three small cats emerged from the undergrowth, two black and one a gray tabby-patched white. All three were shivering violently, and it wasn't because it was cold. Fear scent rolled off of them in waves, and Minkpaw's heart ached for them. They, too, had claw marks on them.

"Let's go help them." She said, and with Duskpaw's nod, slipped out from her own hiding spot. The five cats before them turned around as quickly as they could in their state, with Cloudface and her other clanmates sheltering the kits behind them.

"Oh. It's just you." Cloudface breathed a sigh of relief. "I thought…"

"That we were ShadowClan?" Minkpaw guessed, then shook her head. "We were suppose to come and get you - Reedstar's orders - but then, when we saw ShadowClan, we hid. We figured, if you needed us, we'd jump in."

The deputy nodded, seeming a little impressed. "A good choice, you two. Many apprentices would have darted straight into the thick of things and possibly made things worse. That's something I will remember about you both, that you have good heads on your shoulders."

"Well," Duskpaw began sheepishly, "when I saw you and Rushfang and Goosefur looking like you do, I kind of really wanted to shred them. If it wasn't for Minkpaw, I probably would've."

"Being truthful is also a good trait that all good warriors need. I'm proud of you both, and I'll be sure to tell Reedstar. Right now, we must deal with these three." Cloudface sighed, glancing behind herself at the kits. They were still shaking. Standing, she carefully walked toward them in a way that wasn't threatening. "Hello, little ones. Who are you? Why were those cats chasing you and hurting you?"

The larger of the three took a small step forward so that he - for it was a tom - stood ahead of the two black kits. "I… I'm Oliver." He said, his voice high pitched and sounding even more terrified than he looked. "T-these are P-punk and Mina. They're my mama's f-friend's kits. Those cats… They've been coming into the city and hurting anyone who is against them with the bad alley cats that live there."

Cloudface looked absolutely stunned. "Why? Why are they doing that?"

"I don't know, but… They killed Punk and Mina's mama, and they were going to kill mine when she made us leave!"


	5. Chapter 5 - A Clan Together

**_AN: Thank you to Spotted Mist, Stuffed Watermelon and ScorpionAngel for leaving such sweet reviews! I really appreciate it!  
>Scorp: Yeah, as mothers go, the kits' (or rather, 'paws now, seeing as they were apprenticed) mothers are fairly kitlike themselves. That's really just them. :') Expect to see them not so nice down the road, though. ;)<em>**

_**Spotted Mist: Thank you! Fun fact about the kittypets, actually: they're based off three of my own cats of the same names. Punk was born basically dead and they worked 90 minutes to save him, Olly was found in my dad's car engine the day after we brought Punk home, and Mina was dropped off at the cat shelter I worked at at the time by a lady who couldn't care for her. :)**_

_**Stuffed Watermelon: Thank you as well! Minky becomes quite the cat, I'll say that much, but whether or not the path she goes down is the one she wants to go down is something I can't say. Just that what we want isn't always what we get. :)**_

_**Also, I'm finishing up the allegiances soon, hopefully. I'll post them when finished, if you'd like. :D**_

"_What_?"

Minkpaw stood on one side of the kits, with Duskpaw on their other side. They'd been tasked with watching the three terrified fluffballs while Cloudface, Rushfang and Goosefur explained to Reedstar in front of the entire training group what had went down. Truth be told, she didn't think they were going anywhere, judging by the way they were all huddled against each other, looking as though they wanted to sink into the very ground, but she did her job anyway.

Cloudface nodded. An angry fire burned within her golden eyes, and for the first time, Minkpaw actually felt afraid of her deputy. "As you can see, the ShadowClan cats harmed them before we could get to them first. Reedstar, they're kittypet kits, but they're _kits_ first. Hurting them is an unforgivable act, and it must be punished."

The golden brown tom glanced at the kits, looking saddened. "To think that Clan cats would do this is… Disgusting, to say the least. And to harm warriors _defending_ the kits? It just makes the horrible thing they've done even worse."

"So, are we going to attack?" Rushfang asked, his claws digging into the soft earth underpaw. His fur - what wasn't clumped together with dried blood - was standing on end. He wanted to act right then, even though he'd just gotten out of a fight.

"I know that you - and others - wish to." Reedstar said, seeming to notice the agitation the tom felt as well. "However, they'll most likely be expecting an ambush now. It would be unwise to initiate one. The gathering is in two days, and it would be equally unwise to attack so close to it."

"Then what are we to do?" Minkpaw was startled when she realized the voice she heard was her own. She'd stood up from her sitting position, and now all eyes were on her. Cringing slightly at this because she didn't really like being the center of attention, she added, "We can't just let them get away with it. What if they think it's okay to attack a Clan kit next time?"

"The apprentice has a point," Heroncloud meowed, speaking up from where she stood not far from Reedstar. "They'll just do whatever they want from now on if we don't act."

"That's why we're not going to sit back on our tails and watch them do this. If they're helping dangerous cats in the Twolegplace hurt cats there and are thinking they can hurt cats here now, they're _wrong_. These kits did nothing wrong, and our patrol did nothing wrong in protecting them." He gazed around at his clanmates, pride within his eyes. "We are going to do the the right thing. It's two days until the gathering, yes? Two days after that is when we'll strike."

Everyone began to cheer. While Clan cats disliked kittypets and wanted little to do with them, the thought that Oliver, Mina and Punk were harmed was deeply angering, and the fact that ShadowClan may as well have said outright that the Code didn't matter to them was even worse. It was just sickening.

"Now, we must figure out to do with these brave young cats." Reedstar went on, gesturing to the three with his tail. "Do you have anyone in Twolegplace except your mothers? A brother or sister or father?"

One of the two black kits, Mina, shook her head sadly but did not try to speak. She and her brother were so young that they must have still been nursing when they left their mother. Minkpaw desperately wanted to comfort them, but also to rip out the throats of those that had taken them away from all that they'd known. She glanced at Oliver, feeling a personal need to thank him. They weren't her kits, but without him, they probably wouldn't have made it, and he probably needed the confidence boost at the moment, looking terrified of them all.

He looked smaller, pressed against the ground as he was, younger than his moons. Had he been part of the Clan, he would've been about a moon from becoming a paw, and he'd already struggled through the first truly difficult challenge life had thrown at him. He was smart, despite being so young. He was strong. He had been brave, even if he wasn't showing that bravery now.

He was, without knowing it, without the cats around her knowing it, made to be a warrior. She knew it, somehow, within her heart and her mind. Without the Clan, she didn't think they'd make it - he'd gotten them this far, but he was, after all, just a kit, and a kittypet kit at that. If they took him in, along with the twins, though…

"Reedstar," Minkpaw said, interrupting whatever had been being said. Again, she had a crushing sense of fear at the looks cast her way, but she pushed it down as best as she could, looking her golden-brown furred leader straight in the eye. Mustering up all of her courage, she began to speak fully.

"Look at all they've been through. They left Twolegplace because their mothers were being killed. They were forced to travel through unknown forests alone without the slightest idea of where they were going or who - or what - would find them. The littler ones could have died so easily in the talons of a hawk, and a fox could have done them all in. ShadowClan was going to hurt them and, who knows, maybe even kill them. They were lucky that Cloudface and her patrol were in the right place at the right time. Had they not been, who knows what would have happened to them?" She took a deep breath, quelling the anxious feelings in her mind as Reedstar cocked his head to the side, curious.

"What are you getting at?" He asked, though, by the faint glimmer of amusement in his eyes, she thought he already knew. The others around her did as well.

"I'm saying that, well… Maybe it was fate that brought them to us. StarClan. We are meant to be their protectors now, since their mothers are gone. We cannot send them back out into the world - it'd be as bad as what ShadowClan did."

Every cat went silent at her words. Many glanced at each other in uncertainty - while they wanted to help them, surely that meant just back to Twolegplace, didn't it? It just meant finding them another family. They'd be fine after that, right?

"I do have to agree with Minkpaw, Reedstar." The normally irritated voice that spoke startled her. Shellpaw.

"I do as well. We may as well be warriors already, and she may as well still be a kit, but she's intelligent. What she says makes sense, doesn't it?" Silverpaw added from his place beside the pale brown tabby. His words about her still being a kit should have hurt her, but they didn't. "These three wouldn't have been sent out of Twolegplace into the dangerous forest beyond if they were not meant to get to us. There's a reason things happen the way they do."

"Perhaps you're correct. However, we don't even know if they want to stay with us. Kits as they are, they may not be cut out for the life we live, and may never be, due to their kittypet heritage. There are several reasons why we shouldn't allow them to stay." Reedstar reasoned, his expression turning unreadable. Minkpaw felt her blood turn to ice. _Surely he won't send them back to the place where their mothers were murdered?_

"Reedstar, I…" She was startled then even more than when Shellpaw had spoken. It was Oliver. Still crouching down with the other two kits, he looked up fearfully at the much bigger tom, his pale green eyes wide. "We can't… We can't go back there. Mama is dead, and her friend, she probably is too. We… There's nothing…"

The way his voice kept breaking was horrible. The raw emotion… He sounded so broken for a cat so young. She thought she saw her leader wince at his words.

"Well, we can't send you back alone, or at all, really… If dangerous cats are there, that'd be unwise…" Reedstar began uncertainly. For a long while, no cat said anything, and then -

"Oh, for StarClan's sake, Reedstar! Take them in!" Cloudface said, cuffing him lightly over the ear. Had it been any other cat then Cloudface, her gesture could've been seen as rude. However, being old friends, Reedstar only shook his head, as though to clear it, and gave the she-cat a faintly amused stare.

"Though not the time to be joking around," He muttered, "I believe that these kits shall now become RiverClan's. Come - they must be seen to, as the patrol should be."

"The kits first, though." Goosefur grunted. "I can wait my turn."

"Yes, Goosefur." Reedstar agreed. "The kits _and_ Cloudface - she is the worst off of the three of you, it seems."

As the cats gathered together to make the short trip home, with Cloudface scoffing and saying that she was fine, Duskpaw and Minkpaw urged the two black kits to their paws. A tired sort of relief hung about all three, though they were still wary.

The tom, Punk, raised his big eyes to her own, tilting his fluffy head to the side. "Does that mean that we're going to live with you now?" He asked.

"I do believe it does." She replied, and to her surprise, he emitted a soft purr.

"Good. You kind of remind me of mother - she talked just like you do."

"What, like she knows everything and like an arrogant furball?" Duskpaw teased, earning a glare from the young apprentice.

"What does arrogant mean?" Mina asked, hurrying to keep up on her small legs as they began to follow the rest of the Clan. Even compared to her brother, she was small, which was concerning. Was she sickly? Did she have something wrong with her? So much they didn't know about these three, so much that should've never had to have been told to them, all because other cats had to be evil. While she'd been thinking, Duskpaw had begun to answer the tiny kit.

"It's like, when you try to be all, 'I'm the best! No one's better than me!' Minkpaw does that all the time."

"Since _when_ do I act like I'm better?" Minkpaw exclaimed, narrowing her eyes at him. He snickered while she shook her head. "You act like you shouldn't be an apprentice right now."

"Rude," Duskpaw shot back. "I was only kidding."

She chuckled, and as she helped guide the kits home, muttered, "Of course you were, Duskpaw. Of course you were."

xx

* * *

><p>xx<p>

The Clan, naturally, had been stunned to hear the news of the kits' arrival and how they'd come to be in their territory. Some had been against letting the kits stay, but upon seeing their beaten, bedraggled state, had softened and demanded that Clovertail see to them immediately. They'd been taken away, much to Minkpaw's relief. They were safe now. Truly safe.

Reedstar had filled them in on what the plan was - that they would not attack ShadowClan just yet. Otterclaw, her father Cedarstripe's brother, spoke out against this.

"The element of surprise would aid us in this situation," He said, his copper colored eyes narrowed in anger. "They wouldn't think we'd attack them now. Not right after they went after our own patrol. Not right before a gathering."

"True, but we don't want tensions even higher at a gathering," Reedstar responded, looking upon the warrior - whom had been his apprentice - thoughtfully. "If we go into the gathering without attacking them, there's every chance that ThunderClan and WindClan will side with us on the matter."

Cedarstripe stepped up in defense of his brother's words, Cindercloud at his side. He looked ready to begin first, but she shoved ahead of him, fur bristling.

"Would they not support us anyway?" She spat, and her mother's ferocity surprised Minkpaw. Glancing to her left where Eelpaw and Smokepaw sat beside her, she saw that their eyes were widened in shock as well. "They attacked our patrol. A patrol defending _kits_, no less, kits they were _attacking_!"

Looking disgruntled at his mate's interruption, but agreeing with her words with a nod, Cedarstripe added, "And if what you mentioned Oliver saying is true, then their possible alliance with the Twolegplace - what did he call them, alley cats? - could threaten all of us. It'd be in the other Clans' best interest to side with us anyway, even if we _did _attack ShadowClan now."

For a few heartbeats, no cat moved to speak. Some glanced back and forth between Cedarstripe and their leader, unsure of which was right. Both ideas had their advantages, but also their flaws, and though they all respected Reedstar, the cats couldn't say that they were wholly behind his plan, either.

"Father is right," A small voice said to Minkpaw's left. Turning, she realized it was Smokepaw. Kind, sweet, Smokepaw.

Their leader's ears pricked as he cast his gaze over them. "What was that, young one? This may be a discussion concerning battle, and you, as well as your siblings, may not be warriors, but even then, I'll take your input - if it's sound input, of course."

The pale gray she-cat look outright terrified at being asked to speak. Though Minkpaw herself got flustered easily in front of any sort of crowd, Smokepaw usually got it much worse than she did. However, with a few nudges from Eelpaw and her mentor, Waspwhisker, whom sat on her otherside, she gulped and took a step forward to begin.

"I… Well… It's just, you know, if they're doing things like this now - hurting kits, hurting cats defending kits… It seems likely that, because of this, they might attack us before the gathering. Or make something up and start a fight _at _the gathering itself and get the other Clans on their side." She paused, breathing in and out a few times to calm herself. "This chance, the one we have _right now_, may be the only one we have. We don't actually know if it is or not, but…"

She stopped, looking as though unable to go on. Minkpaw felt her heart go out to her sister, and without thinking, leaped forward to finish her thought for her. "As Smokepaw was going to say, I believe, wouldn't it be better to take that chance _now_, rather than waste it?"

Reedstar let out a light chuckle at her and Smokepaw. "I look forward to seeing you and your siblings as warriors. Such good heads on your shoulders already - your mentors and parents must be proud." Minkpaw glanced to the side to see Cindercloud and Cedarstripe nodding vigorously. She recalled that Cloudface said something very similar to her only just earlier and purred lightly. "I do believe that what you say has quite a lot of truth in it. Does any other cat agree?"

Waspwhisker was the first to come forward. "Yes. My apprentice, though nervous, is very intelligent, as you've seen. Same with her sisters. They wouldn't say something to this level if they didn't believe in it being the right thing to do."

Frostfoot came next. "I agree with what Waspwhisker says and stand by what my apprentice and her sister have said. This is our best chance."

Slowly, others came around to the idea, though some seemed to be uneasy at first. Taking an apprentice's advice was no simple matter, especially concerning the problem, but even the elders, Pebbleface, Swanclaw, and Palefur, agreed.

"Don't see why ye all ain't there already," Palefur grumbled, so loudly that Minkpaw heard her from her place across the clearing. Her mate, Swanclaw, nodded along with her words, while Pebbleface sank her claws into the sand, golden eyes narrowed.

"If that's all, then -" Reedstar began, though he was swiftly interrupted by another. Cloudface. She was seated a few fox-lengths outside of the medicine cat's den, her fluffy light gray pelt cleaned and full of cobwebs and poultices for her wounds.

"I have an idea," She meowed, wincing as she shifted her weight onto her other, uninjured leg.

"You should be in a nest in Clovertail's den right now," Reedstar meowed sternly, in an almost fatherly fashion. Cloudface simply rolled her eyes, and Minkpaw had to hold back a snicker. "We need our deputy to get better as soon as possible."

"If I have any advice for the Clan _you_ chose me to be the deputy of, then I am _going_ to give it, whether you like it or not." She shot back. Waspwhisker chuckled beside Eelpaw, leaning closer to them to whisper, "How in StarClan's name they've gotten us this far, I'll never know. They've always bickered like this."

"Fine, say your piece if you must." The RiverClan leader said with a lofty sigh.

With a low growl in his direction, Cloudface turned to address the Clan. "So that we aren't going into this battle without the other Clans knowing about what's going on, I propose that we give our almost-warrior apprentices the task of alerting them when the battle party is sent out. Silverpaw, Cypresspaw, Shellpaw, and Tansypaw will be sent out together to the WindClan border. There, two will wait for a patrol to take them to WindClan camp, while the other pair will go on, using the neutral land along the lake's edge to pass through. They will wait for a ThunderClan patrol, then do the same as the other two will. Should they all do well, I see no reason why this could not be counted as their warrior assessment."

The eyes of all four named apprentices stretched wide, even Shellpaw's. Minkpaw was unsure of whether or not they were all excited - or fearful.

"Do you really think sending apprentices is the best course of action?" Called a cat from the crowd. Several others voiced similar opinions but, to her credit, Cloudface didn't even look irritated at this.

"I believe that these four young cats are brave, intelligent individuals who are more than ready to take on the mission at hand. I've seen what they can do when hunting and sparring, and should any trouble come about, I trust that they can keep their cool." She sent a glance Shellpaw's way, and the she-cat's ears flattened a bit in embarrassment.

"While I do think it risky to send them, I also think it may be our best course of action. In this way, we can send two to four warriors that otherwise would have been delivering these messages to WindClan and ThunderClan to fight, or we could keep them here to guard the camp. If we want to do this _now_, then we must come to an agreement. Do any of you oppose Cloudface's plan?" Reedstar asked, looking imploringly upon his Clan. No cat responded, and he nodded at once.

"Good. Which two apprentices should go to which Clan's borders?" He asked Cloudface.

"Shellpaw and Silverpaw to ThunderClan. They're the faster of the four, and from what I've seen, have a great amount of endurance. I trust that they'll make it to their destination. Cypresspaw and Tansypaw should go to WindClan. Rabbitstar can be a little gruff when she wants to be, but these two are very calm and very well-spoken. I have no doubt that they'll do fine."

"Sounds like a fine idea. Does anyone have any objections?" The golden brown tom asked, though by the sound of his voice, Minkpaw thought that he sounded rather set in doing things this way anyway. When no cat voiced their opinions, he nodded resolutely. "Cloudface, are you well enough to speak with me about who should join the parties going to ShadowClan?"

Clovertail, sitting not far from the deputy, cut in before the other she-cat could reply. "She is, but I'd prefer you do it in my den so that she can lie down. She shouldn't be standing and walking on that leg of hers."

"Of course." Reedstar replied, then added, as though it were an afterthought, "I'd like my senior warriors to join us as well, please."

With that, he leaped down of of the High Mound, padding briskly toward where Clovertail disappeared into her den with Cloudface in tow. Goosefur, Rushfang, and Brightnose followed, leaving the rest of the Clan to disperse.

"Are you going to go, Waspwhisker?" Smokepaw asked, turning to her mentor. Her big orange eyes held intense worry for her mentor, and Minkpaw couldn't help but feel for her sister. Waspwhisker had become the biggest influence in her life thus far besides their parents, showing her that even though she was shy, she _could_ speak up like she just had. In the short time they'd been training, she'd already become a bit bolder, which was a huge step for the little gray-and-white she-cat. If he ended up getting hurt, she'd be devastated.

The bright ginger tom chuckled, flicking his tail across his apprentice's nose. "I may, if I am chosen. Do not fret, though. Nothing'll ever stop me, little cloud."

Minkpaw purred. If there was one cat that was meant for Smokepaw, it was probably Waspwhisker. He was still rather young, though a bit older than Frostfoot, but not so much that it would be looked down upon if she were to become mates with him when she was made a warrior. They were already rather close, and Minkpaw wondered, faintly, if that would actually happen.

"Will we be going?" Eelpaw asked, unsheathing her claws and sinking them into the soft earth underpaw. "I want to shred them for doing what they did."

"No, I don't think so." Waspwhisker replied. "You're too young to fight as of right now, I'd say."

"But we've had nearly a _moon_! Surely that's enough!" She groaned, tail lashing to and fro.

"From your mentor, I hear you're already shaping up to be one of our best fighters. Key words there being 'shaping up.' You aren't ready yet." He said in earnest.

"I should be able to go, though." Minkpaw meowed, for once sounding indignant, "I mean, I saw what happened after the ShadowClan patrol fought our own. I want to fight for those kits."

"That's all good and well," Frostfoot began, "But your place is here. You want to fight for them? Stay here and protect them. If ShadowClan gets any smart ideas and comes here, we need you to be ready. You'll be the defense for the queens and kits and elders, along with a few warriors, probably. That should be good enough for you."

"I want to be able to fight with the entire Clan though." Eelpaw spat, and Minkpaw found herself agreeing. She wanted to feel ShadowClan pelts rip beneath her claws, to know that _she_ did something worthy for them rather then sitting behind, waiting for her clanmates to return. It was a rather violent thought for her, she mused, being a cat who liked words, but she didn't find herself thinking it wrong of her to feel that way.

"Tough luck, then. When you're older, it'll be different." Waspwhisker said, promptly ending the talk of fighting with a dismissive flick of his tail and padding away from them, Frostfoot following close behind. Eelpaw let out a faint hiss, as though she wanted to argue more.

"He's irritating," She grumbled, throwing a glare in their sister's direction. "I don't see what _you_ see in him."

Smokepaw's eyes widened and her fur fluffed up in alarm. "I don't know what you're talking about. Are you saying I like him?"

"It's obvious you're, like, totally moony over him. Only eight moons old and totally starstuck." Eelpaw had adopted a lofty sort of town, and Minkpaw giggled.

"I do _not_ like him, and I'm not moony over him! I swear!" She said, though Minkpaw figured she was lying.

"Sure, sure. Anyway, we've got more important things to worry about. Like how to get to that battle." Eelpaw appeared deep in though, something that, Minkpaw mused, was rare, seeing as she preferred to rush into things.

"Did I hear something about the battle?" Duskpaw asked, bounding over to join them.

"Not if you're going to tell on us." Eelpaw replied. Duskpaw shook his head quickly.

"I'm not going to say anything." He meowed, and it was then that Minkpaw saw that his tail was lashing, and that the fur along his spine was bristling. "It isn't fair that Minkpaw can't go, and that I can't go. If any of the young apprentices should be going, it's us because we _saw_ what happened after the fight."

"We'll find a way, Duskpaw." Minkpaw mewed determinedly, ears pricking as she heard pawsteps exiting the medicine cat's den, signaling the end to the leader's short meeting with his senior warriors and deputy. She knew that it would be dangerous, and probably a bit stupid, but for once, she wasn't thinking about doing what was enough for her Clan. She wanted to do _more _than enough.

"We'll find a way."


	6. Allegiances

**AN: Alright, so I'm going to give you guys something that should've been here awhile ago; the allegiances. I finally got off my butt and finished it. :')  
>I'm sorry it took so long, and I'm sorry if there are errors. This is basically just straight from my reference sheet, only without the extra character notes. :') I took those out so you guys could learn about the characters for yourselves, basically.<strong>

**The next chapter will be out soon, I promise. ;_; I just haven't really been in the mood to write for a long time. :(**

* * *

><p><strong>RIVERCLAN<strong>

_**9 toms, 13 she-cats**_

**LEADER:** Reedstar(heart) - a slender golden brown tomcat with copper colored eyes.

**DEPUTY:** cloudface - a pretty, fluffy light gray she-cat with golden eyes. (silverpaw)

**MEDICINE CAT:** clovertail - pale ginger she-cat with light yellow-green eyes.

**WARRIORS:**

goosefur - light gray-brown tom with blue eyes.

rushfang - golden brown tom with amber eyes. (duskpaw)

brightnose - slender mostly white she-cat with dark ginger patches and pale yellow eyes (tansypaw)

otterclaw - dark brown tom with a creamy white underbelly. copper colored eyes. cedarstripe's brother. (eelpaw)

cedarstripe - dark brown tom with yellow eyes and distinctive tabby markings. otterclaw's brother. (mate - cindercloud)

heroncloud - gray and white she-cat with yellow eyes.

mudstripe - large dark brown tom with darker brown distinctive tabby markings

waspwhisker - bright ginger tabby tom with green eyes.(smokepaw)

miststream - pale gray she-cat with slightly darker gray tabby markings. sister to birchtail and frostfoot (shellpaw)

birchtail - pale gray tabby tom with orange eyes. brother to frostfoot and miststream.

frostfoot - pale gray tom with light yellow eyes. (brother to birchtail and miststream) (minkpaw)

stormclaw - dark gray tom with amber eyes. very good fighter. (mate: rainfur) (cypresspaw)

rainfur - blue-gray she-cat dappled with darker blue-gray patches. golden eyes. (mate: stormclaw) (kits: duskpaw)

cindercloud - gentle and extremely patient dappled gray she-cat with golden eyes. (mate: cedarstripe) (kits: smokepaw, eelpaw and minkpaw)

**APPRENTICES:**

Silverpaw (Silverheart) - blue-gray mackerel tabby tom with amber eyes.

Cypresspaw (Cypressclaw) - dark ginger tabby tom with green eyes.

Shellpaw (Shellstream) - very light brown tabby she-cat with amber eyes. (tansyflower's sister)

tansypaw (Tansyflower) - golden-furred she-cat with yellow eyes. (shellstream's sister)

smokepaw (smokecloud) - pale grey she-cat w/ a white underbelly and paws. orange eyes.

eelpaw (eelclaw)- dark brown shecat with a light cream underbelly. golden eyes.

minkpaw (minkheart) - light tawny brown she-cat w a white muzzle. white fades down onto throat, blending in w the tawny brown. pale golden eyes.

maplepaw (maplestripe) - a light brown and ginger she-cat with dark brown/black marbling. minnowpaw's sister

minnowpaw (minnowtail)- a slender light gray tabby she-cat with blue eyes. maplepaw's sister.

duskpaw (duskwhisker) - a dark tabby gray tom with golden colored eyes.

**QUEENS:**

dappleflower - tortoiseshell she-cat with copper colored eyes (mate: birchtail) (kits - minnowpaw/maplepaw, adoptive mother to oliver, mina and punk)

**KITS:**

Oliver - white tom with gray tabby patches and amber eyes.

Punk - small black tom with yellow eyes (mina's brother)

Mina - tiny (smaller even than punk) black she-cat with yellow eyes. (punk's sister)

**ELDERS:**

Pebbleface - very small, very pretty gray she-cat with golden eyes.

Swanclaw - large white tom with pale yellow/green eyes. (palefurs mate stormclaws father))

Palefur - very pale gray she-cat with faint tabby markings, pale green eyes. (swanclaws mate stormclaws mother)

* * *

><p><em><span><strong>SHADOWCLAN<strong>_

_**7 toms, 11 she-cats**_

**Leader:** Sootstar - very dark dappled gray tom. orange eyes.

Deputy:

Ravenfur - black she-cat with a white splash of fur on her chest. pale green eyes.

**Medicine Cat:** Batheart - dark reddish-brown tom with yellow eyes. (apprentice - Spottedpaw)

**Warriors**

Spidertail - brown brindled she-cat with golden eyes.(apprentice - lizardpaw) (lizardpaw's mother)

Foxclaw - reddish-brown tom with green eyes. (nightflower's mate)

Blackfur - black tom with yellow eyes. (nightflower's brother, ashheart's father, pineclaw's mate)

nightflower - black she-cat with yellow eyes. (blackfur's sister, foxclaw's mate)

ratnose - brown tom with green eyes

pineclaw - blue-gray she-cat with blue eyes. (ashheart's mother, blackfur's mate)

snakefang - light brown tabby tom, yellow eyes.

littlenose - small pale gray she-cat with light green eyes. (apprentice = ashpaw)

**apprentices  
><strong>ashpaw(ashheart) - dark gray she-cat with yellow eyes. (littlenose's apprentice, pineclaw and blackfur's daughter)

lizardpaw (lizardstripe) - golden brown tom with distinctive tabby markings. green eyes.(spidertail's apprentice, spidertail's son)

spottedpaw (spottedface) - pretty brown and orange dappled she-cat with green eyes. (batheart's apprentice, hazelstream's apprentice)

**queens**

Darkfur - dark brown she-cat, copper eyes (mother of swiftkit and beetlekit)

**kits**

swiftkit (swifttail) - dusky brown she-cat with with a white splash on her chest. golden eyes. (darkfur's daughter)

beetlekit (beetlefoot) - quick dark brown tom with orange eyes

**elders  
><strong>hazelstream - light brown she-cat with green eyes.(spottedface's mother)

* * *

><p><em><strong>THUNDERCLAN<br>**__**7 toms, 8 she-cats**_

**Leader: ** Sandstar (Sandheart) - pale golden-pelted she-cat with copper colored eyes.

**Deputy:** Smallstorm - small light gray tom-cat with green eyes. (willowcloud's brother)

**Medicine Cat:** Wrenfoot - very small brown tabby she-cat with orange eyes.

**Warriors:**

Specklefur - pale ginger she-cat with darker ginger speckles on her paws and back. pale green eyes. (dovepaw)

Honeynose - she-cat with warm, light golden brown pelt with green eyes. (acornfoot's sister)

Acornfoot - small golden brown tom with golden-brown fur and green eyes. (honeynose's brother)

Sparrowclaw - brown tabby tom w/ a lighter brown underbelly. yellow eyes. (willowcloud's mate)

Boulderstep - a large gray tom-cat with orange eyes. (bluefang's brother)

Bluefang - blue-gray tom w orange eyes (boulderstep's brother) (oakpaw)

owlface - pretty light brown she-cat with a creamy underbelly and dark amber eyes (briarstripe's sister)

briarstripe - large brown tom with distinctive tabby markings. amber eyes. (owlface's brother)

**Queens**

Willowcloud - heavily pregnant gray she-cat with yellow eyes. (smallstorm's brother, sparrowclaw's mate)

**Kits  
><span>**None as of right now

**Apprentices  
><span>**Oakpaw - brown tom with green eyes

dovepaw - light gray-brown she-cat with orange eyes

**Elders  
><strong>fawnfoot - light brown she-cat with very, very faint tabby markings. copper-colored eyes. 

* * *

><p><strong><span>WINDCLAN<span> **  
><strong>9 toms, 9 shecats<strong>

**Leader:** Rabbitstar(storm) - light brown tabby she-cat, has a white tail and legs

**Deputy:** Cherryclaw - dark ginger she-cat with a lighter face, yellow eyes.

**Medicine Cat:** Sheepfur - fluffy white tom. dark amber eyes and a few grey toes. (lavenderpaw)

**Warriors:**

Owleye - reddish-brown tabby tom. his left eye has been damaged

Oatwhisker - pale ginger tom with blue eyes and a white muzzle

Rookpelt - black tom with golden eyes

Sagenose - pale gray she-cat with a faint tabby pattern. (hailpaw)

Dandelionstorm - pale ginger-and-white she-cat. orange eyes.

Willowfang - gray tabby tom. white chest and back paws. (briarpaw)

**Apprentices:**

Hailpaw(fur) - gray-and-white tom

Lavenderpaw(tail) - pale gray she-cat with darker gray patches

Briarpaw(nose) - brown-and-white she-cat with a pink nose. yellow eyes.

**Queens:**

Dustflower - brown tabby she-cat. (icekit and oakkit's mother)

Spiderclaw - black she-cat with a dark gray underbelly. tall. (pregnant)

**Kits:**

Icekit(fang) - white tom with a gray patch on his flank.

Oakkit(flower) - reddish-brown tabby she-cat. her tabby stripes are more blocky.

**Elders:**

Larkpelt - brown tabby tom, missing patches of fur here and there.

Shrewfoot - mottled brown and gray tom 

* * *

><p><strong>TWOLEGPLACE CATS<strong>  
><strong>11 toms, 15 she-cats<strong>

**Leader-** ebony - black she-cat with yellow eyes

**Seconds-in-Command  
><strong>talon - large dark brown tabby tom with yellow-green eyes. claw and red's brother

claw - large dark brown tabby tom with yellow eyes. talon and red's brother

red - slender ginger tabby she-cat w a white underbelly and green eyes (takes after dead mother) talon and claw's sister

**followers**

blaze - bright ginger tom, green eyes. yew's brother

yew - bright ginger tom with a white patch on his right shoulder. green eyes. blaze's brother

dapple - tortoiseshell she-cat with amber eyes. pepper's mother

thistle - huge light brown tabby tom with white paws. amber eyes

pepper - sassy, small light brown she-cat with even lighter brown splatters and patches. also has darker brown splatters/patches, amber eyes. dapple's daughter.

sage - quiet white she-cat with one blue eye and one green eye. has a black smudge on her muzzle w/ two tiny spots on either side of her nose and a ginger tail ringed with black.

dawn - mottled light ginger, dark ginger, and brown tabby she-cat with yellow-green eyes.

cliff - large light brown tabby tom with green eyes

silver - silver tabby tom with orange eyes (opal's mate)

tinsel - dark gray tabby she-cat with blue eyes. former kittypet, twilla's sister

twilla - small gray she-cat, blue eyes. former kittypet, tinsel's sister

saxon - dark ginger tom, green eyes (marley's brother)

marley - ginger she-cat with a white chest and paws, pale green eyes. (saxon's sister)

trick - shortfurred silver tabby tom with orange eyes and a very light gray, nearly white underbelly (silver and opal's kit from first litter. only survivor of that litter. kita/mara's older brother)

gem - pretty white she-cat with green eyes

lucky - ginger-and-white tom missing half his tail

jax - dark gray tom with one white paw

spring - black-and-white she-cat, long legs

marco - brown tabby tom

clover - white cat with gray legs

viola - black she-cat with amber eyes

rolo - ginger tom with copper-colored eyes

oreo - black and white she-cat with pale yellow/green eyes

_**Queens**_  
>opal - longfurred white she-cat with bright ginger patches. pale yellow green eyes (silver's mate, tara's sister, KitaMara/Trick's mother)

pebble - blue-gray she-cat with blue eyes. (mother of autumn, bark, and petal)

tara - longfurred ginger she-cat w/ white chest and underbelly, pale green eyes. (opal's sister, thistle's mate, heavily pregnant )

**Kits**

kita - longfurred white she-cat with a ginger paw (right front). pale yellow eyes. (silver and opal's kit. mara/trick's sister) (nearly apprentice age)

mara - shortfurred silver tabby she-cat with orange eyes (silver and opal's kit. kita/trick's sister) (nearly apprentice age)

autumn - blue-gray she-cat with pale green eyes (pebble's daughter, bark/petal's sister)

bark - dark brown tabby tom with amber eyes (pebble's son, autumn/petal's sister)

petal - pale gray she-cat with amber eyes (pebble's daughter, bark/autumn's sister)


	7. Author's Note - Please read!

**AN: Hey guys! I know I promised an update, and one _is indeed coming_, but not in the way you might expect.**

**I realized, writing the current chapter, that I jumped way too quickly into the drama and found myself wanting to rewrite everything in order to make it flow**

**_a lot better_. With Camp NaNo being this month, I figured I would take the chance to use this time to try and rewrite as much of _Chasing the Sun_as possible, as well as continue on where I left off.**

**The story will remain largely the same, only it'll be laid out a lot better, in my opinion. I'll be uploading it as a separate story, so make sure to check it out there!**

**I do have summer work to do for the three AP classes I'm taking next year, but I'm going to devote as much time as I can to this fic. I really want to see it through. ;_;**

**As a side note, if any of you have some ideas for OCs for a Twolegplace cat, I'd love to hear about them. I need a few more. **

**I love you guys. Thank you for reading.  
>-Song<strong>


	8. Author's Note 2

**AN: Hey guys! Just a heads up that the allegiances and chapter one of the rewrite are going up in just a few minutes! The first chapter is a bit different than it was previously, but I like it better this way. ;_; If you're still following the story, thank you so much! **


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